The #1 bestseller that tells the remarkable story of the generations of American artists, writers, and doctors who traveled to Paris, fell in love with the city and its people, and changed America through what they learned, told by America’s master historian, David McCullough. Not all pioneers went west. In The Greater Journey, David McCullough tells the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, and others who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, hungry to learn and to excel in their work. What they achieved would profoundly alter American history. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in America, was one of this intrepid band. Another was Charles Sumner, whose encounters with black students at the Sorbonne inspired him to become the most powerful voice for abolition in the US Senate. Friends James Fenimore Cooper and Samuel F. B. Morse worked unrelentingly every day in Paris, Morse not only painting what would be his masterpiece, but also bringing home his momentous idea for the telegraph. Harriet Beecher Stowe traveled to Paris to escape the controversy generated by her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Three of the greatest American artists ever—sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, painters Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent—flourished in Paris, inspired by French masters. Almost forgotten today, the heroic American ambassador Elihu Washburne bravely remained at his post through the Franco-Prussian War, the long Siege of Paris, and the nightmare of the Commune. His vivid diary account of the starvation and suffering endured by the people of Paris is published here for the first time. Telling their stories with power and intimacy, McCullough brings us into the lives of remarkable men and women who, in Saint-Gaudens’ phrase, longed “to soar into the blue.”

"Follow Red Beak as he flies to the other side of the world and use the magic view-finder to discover what's really going on behind the scenes."--Back cover.

Olwen Mellory is called away from her life as a writer of fairy tales to take part in a week-long retreat on a remote Scottish island. 'The Great Journey' promises to be full of magical wisdom and visionary experiences. It's an invitation she can't resist. But within hours of arriving at the imposing Dunesfort House and meeting her companions in the circle, Olwen's adventure takes an unexpected turn. Before long, her daytime explorations of mystical practices are paired with night-time dreams and phantasms that blur the line between the real and the imaginary. As the enigmatic but vaguely sinister course director asserts his authority in a bid to create an act of modern alchemy, Olwen begins to wonder in whom she can trust. After a shocking event in the circle Olwen flees across the moors to the Callanish Stones, only to find herself caught in an ancient moon rite. Will this final calling free her from her personal demons forever, or will it be the beginning of a new nightmare?

In May 1995, with nothing but a backpack and a vague sense of disquiet, Patrick Dobson left his home and a steady if deadening job in Kansas City, Missouri. Over the next two and a half months he made his way to Helena, Montana, letting chance encounters guide him to a deeper sense of who he was and where he was going. His chronicle of this journey charts his experiences with the seldom-seen people of the small towns, the far-flung outposts, and the Great Plains that make up "our America."

"The true story of one Amish family's journey to the Truth"--Cover.

A fictional diary of Princess Sophie, later named Catherine, from 1743 until 1745, when at age fifteen she is married to her second cousin Peter, Grand Duke of Russia, who will one day be Emperor. Includes historical notes on her later life.